Fishing reel



March 26, 1940. w E WATSON 2,194,578

FISHING REEL Filed June 7, 1957 Patentecl Mar, 26, 1940 UNITED. srATEs ENT oFFicE. v

' a sas'zsf t a ir s nNGnEEL -wi11iam r-Qwatson, Bradenton, Fla. d Application june @1937, Serial No. 146,909 ratis, "(01. 2425845) This invention relates to an improved fishing reel. r

One object of" the invention is to i provide fishing reel employing a spring and gear train which ,areassociated with the spool employedand cooperate therewith in such .a manner thatl-the spoolwill not be permitted to unwind too rapidly during a casting operation so that objectionable backlash will beeliminated Another object of the inventionjis 'tdprovide a 1 fishing reel wherein the. gear, train willfpermit, the spring to be wound :slowly as thespool rotatesduring a casting operation so that a steady retarding effect on; the spool during saidpasting; l5 operationwill be had, the amount of retarding ef-' fectbeing capable of adjustment andpeingconvtrollahle at all times.

The invention seeks,'as a further object, to pro vide a, fishing reel which makes. use of a cooper ating detent and cam surface, said camisurface being-0f such formation that rotation .of the spool i in the directionof Winding will beirelatively uh:

facility. 1

Asva still further object; the invention seeks to) provide a fishing reel which will be simple and durable in construction, cheap tomanufacture,

, 30, and highly efficient in use.

tion. it is believed, that other and incidental objects will render themselves apparent. w H My inventionis'illustrated inthe accompanying drawing, wherein: f

Figure 1. is a longitudinal sectionalview of my improvedfishing reel, on the line l-,--l"of Figure 2, looking'in the direction of the. arrows."

v Figure 2 is avertical sectional viewfoni the line 2-,-2of Figure 1, looking the direction of the arrows.

1 Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line I 3-'-3Gof Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows. l

Referring now more particularly to the drawing,'wherein, as will beseen, like numeralsof ref-p erence designate like partsthroughout the various views, the numeral lindicates, inge'neral a fishf ing reel having a frame Zformed with a rela- 5U tively thick end wall 3 and a relatively thin stationary endplate 4. The ,wall 3 and plate 4 are connected by tie rods 5 which are preferably five in number. The wall 3" and plate 4 are prefer-.

ably circular in shape: and "are adapted, to have I 3 mountedv concentrically fthereofand: therebe I ring the reading of the'following desc iD-rl tion of ahousingwhich isindicated in general tween, a spjoolfiQv H The spool has an axial shank I formedwith integralendplates 8 and 9 which are concave convex in shape. The'spoolis mount- I ed in the frame by means of a shaft H! which has. the axial, shank I fixed to itfand, "atjgone' end, is- 5 'reduced,qas shownat l itiandextends into-"an c axialsleeve i2 havinga'cap bearing 13 thereon.

The otherend ofthe'shaft I0 is reduced near its free end, as shown at l i-,:and extends through the 3 wallii into a sleeve tfiwhich has a cap hearing it 10 "thereonn It will he understood that the spool r mounted {for ready rotation within the name. Carried onthe reduced end portion l;l5tof the sshaft if) and axiallywithina socketil'l in the relatively thick endwalli is'apinion l8 which 1! turns with the shaft and is adaptedfor meshing with a relatively large pinion ii9},carried by a stub shaft ztl whichis journaled through the wall, v f3. and has' securedto itsbuter end aqcrank hani die 2LyRiotaticngof thefcrank handlewill effect 2 rotation of thefpinioncill, which, "by virtue ofthe l fact thatit meshes with the relatively small pin- H ion, carried by, the shaft l0, will-cause'rotationjof said shaft and-the spoolcarr ied thereby at a high rate of speed; i 4

1 -26 AS .Will be "Figured;the-circumferen? tial edges of the end plates ,8 andS are feathered H and extend to rotate-within a: groove 22 in the inner surfacelof the end wallt'and a'groove 23 in the-end plate 4. 1

The relatively thinend plate 5 "comprises a porby the numeral 24 and, in addition to the plate rods 5 extend through the wallidandare reduced "at2l to define shoulders 28 to limitthe inward movement-of the housing 24px). the rods 5 :so

thatsaid housing Willbernaintained in a proper; operative position. Screws Ware adapted to be threaded into the ends :of the reduced portions 2? of the rods 5, and serve effectually to retain the end plate 26 and-housing zfi liinlproper operative 'positio ni, l, l r

The reduced portion ll of the shaft 10 of-the spool 6 carries a relativelywide pinion 36 which,

.of course, is fixed to the shaft land, as willlhe seen lis disposedbetween the opposed inner surfacesof the "p-lateJS and 'therel'atively thin plate Carried on the plate-4 andmeshing with the 5 pinion H is a relatively large gear 31' which :is a rigidly mounted on a shaft; 32. The shaft 32 is journaled through the plate 'and at the oppositejside of thewall i, is disposed a pinion i which is rigidly mounted onlthe shaft;;32, and M I The outer end of the coil spring is'rivet'ed or is adapted to mesh with a relatively large gear 35 which is rigidly mounted on a sleeve 36 surrounding and loosely receiving the reduced portion H of the shaft ill. The sleeve 36 serves as a spacing sleeve, in addition to mounting the gear 35, and extends the major distance between the outer surface of the wall 4 and the inner surface of the wall 26. Carried on thewall 4 at its outer sur face and within-the housing 2 8-, is a right angularly disposed circular flange 31. The flange 3T serves effectually to space a rotatable disc 38 carried on the reduced portion H in overlying relation to the gear 35 and is provided with an annular flange '39. The rotatable disc 38 is adapted to rotate freely about the sleeve 36.

Carried in overlying relation to the disc 38 at the opposite side thereof from that confronting the gear 35, is a coil'spring 4t. 49 is confined within the disc by the flange 39 and has its inner end securely fastened to an anchoring hub-4l WhiChiS fixedto the sleeve 36.

otherwise secured to theflange 39. a In order to reinforce the inner end of the spring I provide a relatively short'spring42 which provides the necessaryadded strength near the hub where v the greatest amount of stress occurs. A relative-- ly heavy housing band it surrounds the hub and effectually retains the innerv ends of thesprings 40 and 42 in position in the notch of the anchor '7 ing hub 4|, as shown inFigureZ.

As best seen in Figure 2 of the drawing, the flange 39 is provided, throughout a portion of its circumference, with a retarding cam'd i which,

as will be observed, is gradually increased in thickness from one'end to provide a sloping cam surface 45, the other end portion of the cam:being abruptly reduced in thickness to form a steeply inclinedsurface 46. The retarding cam 44 is preferably formed integral with the flange 39.

It should be noted that thefiange 39 is of slightly greater height than'that of the coil spring so that said coil spring-will be permitted to operate freely on the face of the disc 38.

-In orderto retard the rotation of the disc 38 during a casting operation, I provide detents 41 which are pivotally mounted on the Wall 4 and are preferably two in number. The detents, as

will be seen, are-diametrically disposed and each comprises a flat portion 48 and a right angularly disposed engaging member 49' which is flat throughout its length. As seen in Figure 2, the

walls 48 are adaptedto overlie the wall 4 beneath the rotatable disc 38 and the members 439 are adapted to engage the edge surface of the retarding cam 44. A- spring 50, which is semicircular information, is secured, preferably medially of its length, to the flange 25 of the housing 24 and, .aswill be seen, the secured portion of the spring is located substantially medially on the circumference between the points-on said circumference overlying the detents -4l.- As shown at 5H,.each end of the spring 50 is turned inwardly to engage the detent ll so that said adjacent detent will be urged toward'the cam 44,. Adjusting screws '52 are threadedithrough the flange 25 near the ends of the spring '5! so as .to permit adjustmentof the tension of the spring on said detents 41' whereby retarding action of the detents-on the cam 44 maybe effectually controlledi In use, after a fishing linehas been wound on .the spool 6 and the line-is ready to be cast, the line is cast in; the usual manner. Asthe line pays out from the spool, the spool will, of; course,

The coil spring rotate and will transmit said rotative movement, through the gears 30, 3|, 33 and 35, to the hub 4!, so thatsaid spring will be caused to wind slowly for effecting a uniform retarding of the velocity of rotation of the spool; The rotation of the sleeve 36 and the hub 4!, which causes the wind-' ing of the spring will, by virtue of the gears,

be much slower than that of the spool 5. A uniform casting of the line will thus be permitted so that objectionablebacklash will not be present. Asthe disc 38 revolves, said disc being connected with the sleeve by the coil spring 40, the detents t? will ride on the wall 45 and will cause the rotatable disc 'tobe detained until the tension of the spring ill becomes great enough to overcome the tension ofthe spring 56 and. move the detent over'the high point of the surface 45 of. the cam 44. The disc will then make a half turn and,

upon completion of said half turn, the cam portion 54 will come into engagement with the opretarding operation. It is particularly desired to point out' that, during casting of the line, a retarding influence on the spool is provided by the tWo d-etents 4'! which alternately engage the cam 44 and too rapid rotation of the spool and back- -"course, bebrought to bear upon the spring, due

to the fact that the detents will, during this operation, effect no great retarding action on the disc ,38. The retarding action of the detents may, as hereinbefore described, be readily adjusted merely by tightening or loosening the adjusting screws 52, which bear on-the spring 50 and control the effect of said spring'on said detents. It should be understood that although I have shown two of the detents 44, only. one

may be employed, if desired. In such case, a

relatively short spring 53 would be employed. Moreover, if more than two detents are employed,

they may be provided without departing from the scope ofthe invention.

It is believed that awarding of the-foregoing description will disclose that I have provided a new and improved anti-backlash fishing reel of simple construction which will be highly efiicient in operation.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is: 1

1. A fishing reel includinga frame, a spool rotatable therein, means. carried at one end of the frame for manually effecting rotation of the spool, a rotatable disc carried by the frame at its opposite end, a spring carried by the disc and secured at one end thereto, jgears rotatably mounted and connecting the other end of the spring with the. spool whereby said spool and disc will be resiliently connected, a detent carried by the frame and engageable with the disc, spring means for urging thedetent towards the disc for effecting a retarded action on the disc as thespool rotates, and means for adjusting said spring means and regulating tension thereof.

' 2. A fishing reel including a frame, a spool rotatable therein, means carried by the frame at one end formanually rotating the spool, a

posite-detent M whichwillthen effect the same rotatable disc carried by' the frame at its opposite'end, a spring at a, side of the disc having one end secured to the disc, gearing between the ing said spring means and controlling binding action thereof against the cam.

3. A fishing reel including a frame, a spool, a shaft having the spool fixed thereto and rotatably mounting the spool in said frame, means carried at one endof the frame for manually rotating the shaft and the spool, a housing at the opposite end of the frame forming a part of the frame, said shaft beingjournaled through the housing, a pinion fixed to the shaft, gears rotatably carried by the housing and interconnected, one of said gears meshingwith the pinion, a third gear rotatably carried by the housing and having a sleeve rotatably receiving said shaft, a disc rotatable about the sleeve within the housing, an anchoring hub fixed upon said sleeve within the housing, a spring at a side of the disc having an end anchored to the anchoring hub and its opposite end anchored at the outer edge of the discysaid third gear being in mesh with certain of said second mentioned gears whereby said spring will be connected through all of said gears and the pinion with the spool, said gearing causing said disc to rotate at slower speed than said spool rotates during a casting operation, a detent movably carried by the housing and engageable with the disc for efiecting retarding 'of rotation of the disc, and resilient means for urging the detent towards said disc and causing the detent to frictionally grip the disc and resist rotation of th 'disc.

4. A fishing reel including a frame, a spool rotatably mounted in the frame and having a shaft fixed thereto, a housing at one end of the frame and spool and journaling the shaft, said housing having a wall, gears carried bythe shaft and said wall and being in, meshing relation, a rotatable disc in the housing about the shaft,

a spring at one side of the disc having one end,

secured to the disc and its other end connected with one of said gears whereby said disc will be'resiliently connected with the spool, said disc having a flange provided with a cam surface at one point about its circumference formed with a gradually inclined surface and an abruptly declined surface, and a spring actuated detent carried, by the housing and being engageable on said gradually inclined wall of the cam for intermittently retarding rotation of said disc" as the spool is rotated in one direction, said retarding of rotation of said disc efiecting a slow, intermittent winding of the spring and said detent being adapted to ride on said inclined surface to the extent thereof and then be freed therefrom for permitting partial free rotation of the disc, said abruptly declining surface permitting operation of the spool in the other di-- rection without appreciable retarding movement.

5. A fishing reel including a frame, a spool mounted in the frame for rotation therein, said frame having a housing at one end thereof and said spool having fixed thereto a'shaft provided with ,a reduced portion extending through the housing, a relatively wide pinion carried by the shaft between the spool and housing and turning withtheshaft and spool, a gear within the housing rotatable about the reduced portionof the shaft, said gear having a sleeve through which the reduced portion of the shaft extends, a-shaft journaled through the housing and having a pinion fixed at one end meshing with the said gear and a gear fixed at its other end mesh ing with i the wide pinion, a rotatable disc mounted in the housing about the sleeve and having a flange, an anchoring hub fixed to the sleeve, a coil spring secured at its ends to the anchoring hub and the flange for resiliently connecting the disc with the sleeve, said fiange having'a cam surface, a detent pivotally carried by the housing and engageable with said cam surface as the disc is rotated, and means urging the detent toward the surface of the'cam into position for frictional binding engagement with the flange of the disc to cause retarded movement of the disc, the said retarded movement being transmitted through the spring and gears and relatively wide pinion to the spool whereby as said spool is rotated the spring will be wound for effecting aretarding movement of the spool and preventing too rapid rotation thereof when the spool-is rotated 'in, one direction. Y

6. A fishing reel including a frame, a spoo" therein, said frame including a housing carried" at oneend thereof, said housing having a relatively thin wall, an end flange and an end plate, a shaft rigidly carrying the spool and rotatably mounted in the frame with one end portion extending through the housing, a pinion fixed to the shaft, a pair of gears carried by the relatively thin wall at opposite sides thereof and turning together, one of the pair of gears meshing with the pinion, a third gear loose about the shaft and meshing with the other one of the pair of gears and having a sleeve rotatably receiving the shaft, a rotatable disc in the housing and rotatable about the sleeve, an anchoring hub fixed to said sleeve against said disc, a coil spring at one side of said disc, said disc having a flange, said'coil spring having its inner end secured to the anchoring hub and the outer end secured to the flange of said disc, a cam carried by the flange of said disc, a detent pivotally carried by the housing, a spring urging the detent toward the flange of the disc for engagement with the cam as the disc rotates, "and:

means carried by the flange of the housing for adjusting the tension of the last mentioned spring on the detent whereby the retarding effector thedetent on the disc may be controlled,

said coil spring and gears transmitting retarded rotative movement from said disc to thespool as the spool rotates in one direction so that backlash will be prevented.

7.A device of the class described including a frame, a spool in said frame fixed to a shaft 'journaled through end portions of the frame and rotatably mounting the spool in the frame,

a rotatable disc in the frame rotatably mounted aboutsaid shaft, a "pinion fixed to the shaft, a pair of connected concentric gears rotatably carried by the frame with one meshing with said pinion, a third gear loosely carried by the shaft and rotatable thereabout and meshing with the second gear of the pair of gears, said thirdgear having a sleeve rotatably receiving the shaft, an anchoring hub carried by said sleeve, a spring resiliently connecting the anchoring hub with the rotatable disc, a reinforcing spring carried by the anchoring hub and disposed in superposed relation with the first men- "tioned spring throughout a portion of its length,

of the discs being transmitted through the springs and the intermeshing gears and pinion to the spool for preventing too rapid rotation of the spool during rotation of the spool in one direction.

WILLIAM F. WATSON. 

